Problem: Raj counted the stars in the night sky. He looked to the north and counted $34$ stars. Then, he looked to the south and counted $40$ stars. How many stars did Raj count in all?
Explanation: To find the ${\text{total}}$ number of stars, we start with the number that Raj saw in the ${\text{north}}$ and then add the number that he saw in the ${\text{south}}$. $?$ $34$ $40$ Total stars North stars South stars ${34} + {40} = {\Box}$ Let's add to find the total number of stars. $$ $$ $$ $$ ${+}$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ${=}$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ${34} + {40} = {74}$ Raj counted a total of ${74}$ stars in the night sky.